Comments on: Blog… not hit back

By: Stupid Mage

Stupid Mage — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:37:48 +0000

When I get in a slump I listen to these guys -http://lxg.imakereality.com/

They always make my day brighter.

By: riegnman

riegnman — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:44:55 +0000

Or you could throw in a gratuitous sex scene. kinda confuse everybody. just sayin.

By: Tesh

Tesh — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:32:42 +0000

How about pinpoint specificity wrapped in vagueness? Sort of like “keep that ring secret and safe”, a very specific command, but with little explanation on why, for how long, or even how to do so.

By: Tsudrats

Tsudrats — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:50:05 +0000

swipe
skull bash
growl
maul
bash

…

tank it :)

that meteor does not stand a chance

By: Mannyac

Mannyac — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:47:45 +0000

Hit you in the head?!!? Pffft. Nuthin to worry about then.

By: FaceTank

FaceTank — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:38:35 +0000

Someone like Gandalf can see all realities and all possibilities. They tend to be vague because any overt clues as to the nature of things might cause reality to completely change. Think about it this way in one reality he might need a rope, in another he might need a banana, in yet another he might need an F-22. There are probably so many possibilities swirling around in his head that he just sits quiet and it becomes a game to him to see which one is actually chosen. Knowing all that was and all that can be must be so confusing and maddening at times.

By: bigbearbutt

bigbearbutt — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:14:08 +0000

See? I hate that!

And yet, I have what I feel is exactly where to go with this, and it annoys me, because I think it’s gonna be both precise, but also vague at the same time, and it feels like I’m copping out. But I’m the idiot who gave Terin the 5 minutes in the first place! Grrrr.

By: Tsudrats

Tsudrats — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:50:16 +0000

About the only time I remember Gandalf being particularly specific about things were telling people to ‘Ruuuunnnnn’ as he plunged to meet the Balrog, telling Frodo that he had to take the ring to the mountain and then kicking a few royals/pseudo royal’s butts … the rest of the time he hintedish … so :) Klep’s suggestion works for me :). Actually I can’t think of any all powerful uber who was particularly precise …

By: Klepsacovic

Klepsacovic — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:46:16 +0000

Rope. Okay? Rope. He needs to bring rope. We don’t know why, or even if, he needs it, but dammit, you BRING ROPE.
What I’m trying to say is that vague, multi-purpose items are one way to go. Also, obscure or unexpected uses are one way to maintain the suspense even while giving a grocery list. For example, lettuce. Tasteless semi-food, water source, or material for umbrella used for jumping off cliff and surviving? Bonus points if said umbrella is stitched together mid-air.

By: bigbearbutt

bigbearbutt — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:40:52 +0000

Okay, here’s the damn writing challenge I’m dealing with right now, the source of my angsty angst.

I have to write a conversation between the main character, and, basically, freaking Gandalf. The challenge; how to answer questions accurately, be true to the personality, not be overly vague and cheesy because the guy really, really wants Terin to do this for him and wants to succeed, eh doesn’t want to like make it so he doesn’t know what he needs to know to achieve victory, but at the same time reign in this deus ex machina so as not to blow all fricken suspense out of the story?

I mean, jeez… I always hate it when some all powerful uber sensei is laying down the mission to the willing champion, and then later on you find that, like, dude, if he knew all this shit was waiting up the road, couldn’t he have, like, warned me to bring high explosives and some alligator bait? I mean, really?

Of course, you shouldn’t have to be told to bring high explosives.